Another Cornucopia of Concerts To Choose From | Norman Provizer’s Jazz Notes

Back in 1998, singer Roberta Gambarini left Italy for the U.S. and a two-year scholarship at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Not long after arriving in America, the singer, who was born in Turin, entered the 1998 Thelonious Monk vocal competition and emerged as a finalist, finishing in the third spot. That encouraged her to move to New York where she emerged as a serious, new voice in the music, especially in the wake of her first U.S. album, Easy to Love. Many people agreed with pianist Hank Jones’ assessment that she was the “best new jazz vocalist to come along in fifty years.

On Thursday, Gambarini returns to Denver for a three-night stay at Dazzle, 930 Lincoln, with a trio made up of area-based players – Eric Gunnison on piano, Ken Walker on bass and Paul Romaine on drums. Gunnison, who worked with singer Carmen McRae, has also been on the road with Gambarini. The singer’s latest CD is titled Connecting Spirits: The Jimmy Heath Songbook that features her with the Heath Brothers Band.If you are not that familiar with the Gambarini, you can get a taste of her fine style during a live KUVO (89.3 FM) broadcast from Dazzle on Thursday from approximately 8:30 until 10 p.m. Once you get a taste, you will want more. She sings at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. on Thursday and at 7 and 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (303-839-5100).

Also, on Friday, guitarist Stanley Jordan makes it back to Denver with a date at the Oriental Theater, 4335 W. 44^th Ave. (720-420-0030). There is an opening act at 8:30 p.m. followed by the string man who developed his entirely own technical style on guitar. Jordan, who was born in Chicago and is a relative of former Denver mayor Wellington Webb, can grab your attention in a variety of contexts. According to the guitarist’s website, the date at the Oriental is solo (though Jordan can sound like a band all by himself), while another stop in Colorado is with his trio. That stop is at the Lake Dillon Amphitheater in Dillon as part of a free, summer concert series that starts at 7 p.m. (970-455-4078). From Colorado, the Princeton graduate Jordan (and his “magic touch”) heads to Iridium in New York.

Back to the start of the musical week on Thursday, saxophonist and CU professor John Gunther has a recording session at Mighty Fine Productions in the company of the Carpe Diem String Quartet doing the saxophonist’s extended work, Anansi and the Sky God. Gunther has never been shy about stepping outside the normal boxes that sometimes limit music; and the interesting thing here is that the Gift of Jazz has made it possible for people to attend the recording session. To see if any spots remain for the session that starts at 6:30 p.m., you can check at giftofjazz.org.

Additionally on Thursday, the Vail Jazz at Vail Square series continues with Maraca and His Latin Jazz All-Stars playing at 6 p.m. Maraca is flautist Orlando “Maraca” Valle who was a member of the great Cuban band Irakere. Among his all-star septet, there’s trombonist and shell player Steve Turre, pianist Harold Lopez-Nussa and drummer Robby Ameen. And keep in mind that the Labor Day Vail Jazz Party is just around the corner (vailjazz.org).

Thursday also finds pianist Neil Bridge celebrating his birthday at American Classical Piano, 2005 Dallas St. in Aurora, with fellow pianist and now East Coast resident Steve Denny (a young player who many might remember from his days at Dazzle). The Keyboard CounterPointe evening starts at 7 p.m. (303-761-6858). On Tuesday, Denny and his trio are at Dazzle starting at 7 p.m. The trio that got together in Greeley has a CD out on Dazzle Records called Life in the Basement.     

In the mountains, way outside the basement, the Genuine Jazz and Wine Weekend in Cooper Mountain takes place Friday through Sunday. Among others, the crossover-jazz event (held indoors) offers Norman Brown, Richard Elliot, Rick Braun, Marion Meadows and Tizer featuring Chieli Minucci (970-444-2202).

Back in Denver, Dazzle also has the H2 Big Band on Sunday at 7 p.m., Heidi’s Little Big Band doing big-band vocal jazz on Monday at 7 p.m. (the Heidi is singer Heidi Schmidt) and a new-spin on bop with Timber and the Saps on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The H2 folk, by the way, are at Vail Jazz at Vail Square on August 25 at 6 p.m.

On Friday and Saturday, Nocturne, 1330 27^th St., offers late-night sounds starting at 11:15 p.m. The Greg Gisbert-Justin Adam duo is up on Friday, while pianist Annie Booth with her trio is on stage on Saturday. For the fall, Nocture is also rounding up a number of visiting artists. In September, it’s the Jeff Hamilton Trio, followed by pianist Emmet Cohen and Greg Gisbert. For October, Nocturne has, to date, saxophonist Greg Ward and his quartet, followed in December by trumpeter Jeremy Pelt’s Power Quintet.

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